Pregame
First Half
BYU women’s basketball walked out of the Marriott Center with a 66-54 win over Pacific. Paisley Johnson led the team with 24 points, including a career-high of five 3-pointers.
The 3-pointers came early and often for BYU, with Johnson burying the first of the team’s 12 shots from behind the arc just nine seconds into the game. Just over a minute and a half later, Malli Perri gave BYU a 8-4 lead with a 3-pointer of her own. Pacific would finish the first quarter on a 8-0 run, leading 14-10.
BYU continued its success from deep, with Brenna Chase Drollinger and Johnson combining for four consecutive 3-pointers to end the first half, giving BYU a 27-26 lead. Johnson led all first-half scorers with 15 points on 41.6% shooting. Chase Drollinger finished the half with a team-high of three rebounds, while Maria Albiero dished out five assists.
Second Half
The second half started in the same fashion as the first half with a 3-pointer, this time from Chase Drollinger. Pacific would momentarily hold the lead during the third quarter, but back-to-back 3s from Johnson and Albiero would help BYU regain the advantage. The Cougars finished the third quarter on a 11-3 run, giving them a 49-41 lead heading into the final frame.
Pacific scored the first five points of the final frame before Albiero made back-to-back 3-pointers for the Cougars en route to 11 second-half points. Pacific was never able to make up the ground that was lost by giving up the consecutive 3s to Albiero as BYU went on to win its eighth of the last ten games.
